Induction Brief, Essay??!!??

Today I had a tutorial with my tutor. I was very confused regarding my essay after the seminar last week and had a block regarding one sentence that was discussed during the Seminar. We had to write down what our major project theme was, we then had to consider for our essay, 'how we would contextualise this with theory'. This had me stumped for about two hours and after the tutor tried to explain and define what this means for about the fifth time, I felt confused and lost and starting to doubt my initial thought as to where I would like to go with my essay. I decided to gain some prospective from friends on 'Facebook' and ask around to see if they could shed some light on my confusion.

Top of Form

' How will you contextualise your major project proposal with theory???'
WHAT??????
Can anyone enlighten me????
My brain was about to give up on me yesterday after my seminar!!!!
HEEEELLLLPPPPP!!!!

• Richard O'Reilly contextualise = put into context, like frame of reference. theory is one of the approaches u may take to explain ur research into whatever it is, conceptual, theoretical, empirical and normative usual
• Sarah Oakley Hodges I was told that contextualise referred to looking at the past and what has already taken place, whilst theory refers to how you will broaden your knowledge. is that the opposite of what You say Richard or the same, i'm confused! bloody academics! why use three small words when one large and complicated one will do more harm!
• Richard O'Reilly ye thats about right Sarah, depending on the subject area contextualise could easily mean looking at the past, i think uve got it sussed dnt get hung up about it, lotsd of long stupid words to mean something quite simple lol
• Andrew Anderson It basically means you have to quote and reference theorists who have looked at this area before. You then put your ideas against theirs

Bottom of Form

I also decided to speak to my tutor during my tutorial. I now have perspective on my essay choice and confidence that what I want to do is an acceptable way to go and will cover the briefs requirements, that it will just be up to me to carry out the essay writing to show a level six Degree students work effectively.

For my essay, I have decided to look into the rituals of dressing up, after an article I read in a book I bought at the V&A regarding the Ballgowns: British Glamour since 1950. The piece was entitled 'The rituals of dressing up'. I want to research why we dress up, I want to look into the dress codes for occasions and how these dress codes have changed over the years. What do we dress-up for in modern terms? Is it only Weddings or do we in fact dress up for many different events it’s only the codes that have changed?

I want to start by looking into both royalty and their dress codes, history and the dress codes but also the changes that have been made through history, including the LBD (the little black dress) and how the liberation of women has changed the way we dress for that very special day in our lives.

Sainsburys Visit - some outcomes?

Reflecting on my trip to Sainsburys and on the reports I composed as a result, I think it would be beneficial for Sainsburys to include some funkier mix and match suits, From my report I could see that they have many options for a young employee who needs to dress smartly but with a more casual spin, but when it comes to being suited and booted, maybe for that amazing interview you have or that really important meeting where you want to make sure you stand out. I think there is a need for a smart suit with interchanging pieces for a 6 outfit capsule wardrobe.

After my visit to Sainsburys, I noticed that they only provided basic trouser suits in boring but conventional black, grey and blue, or they have more casual smart wear for the everyday office.

Whilst I was in the store I overheard a very interesting conversation between a young employee, who by her own account has worked within the TU section of this store for 4 years. Her conversation took place with a TU womenswear planner from head office, which apparently is one of two new role, the other being the planner for menswear. They were talking about the TU ranges and the Planner was asking the TU ground floor employee what her views on the clothing were. She explained that over her 4 years in the section she has notice a considerable change in the clientele over the last year, which coincides with the new 'Top Shop' range that targets a newer, younger market (20-35yrs), a New Look/Top Shop type brand that caters to an area of the market that had previously been ignored by TU. The employee went on to explain that over the last year she had noticed that the TU section had been flooded with a younger more fashionable woman and that sales have increased for their store. She explained that the new brand was excellent and that she was really excited about it, that she would previously not have shopped in the store for herself but that had changed over the last twelve months.

This shows that they have now tapped a previously ignored area and from what I saw in this store, it leave very few gaps in the market. Sainsburys seem to have catered for just about everyone, but does that mean they have made themselves a Jack of all Trades instead of being a Master of one? I don't think so, I think that have managed to do what they and other stores like them, do best. They make clothes for the everyday person, they target they impulse buyers, the spontaneous purchase. I am sure that Sainsburys are not naive enough to think that what they offer is a brand that their market rushes out to buy. They are, for fashion, a secondary purchase. Their customer is firstly, a Next shopper or M&S, or Debenhams, of on a different area of the business, a New Look customer or Top Shop customer and use Sainsburys as a a place that they buy their weekly shopping and maybe, if they have time, if they are on their lunch break or if time is on their side for once, they will have a quick look around the clothes and maybe there will be something that they can throw into their shopping trolley that might make their purchases from the other stores that they love so much a little more guilt free on the bank balance

This is why I will design a softly tailored, but on trend capsule wardrobe. This wardrobe will include a trouser suit and a skirt suit and a dress.

I need to look at other Brands and what they have to offer in this department. Look at Next and River Island. I need to look at what is on trend for this look at the moment and which of those ideas and features would translate to a Sainsburys customer.

Sainsburys Trend Report AW12 Ladies Wear

Sainsburys TU Brief

Right, I have visited the store, London Colney, Colney Fields, looked at the ranges they had to offer and the styles, prices and fabrics. I have taken notes in the hope that I will learn something about Sainsburys that will help me find some kind of direction for my project.

Shop Report

Whilst, shopping and taking notes, I was surprised that they initially open their TU department with both Goks new range but also next to this you will find their Knitwear. I would not have put these two next to one another as it suggests that this is all they have to offer if you are interested in the Gok fashion range, which I later found to be incorrect. They have a wealth of clothing within their department and they have tried not to leave any body out.

*They have comfortable classics, Knitwear, T-shirts, long sleeve and short, They have Jeans, a whole range of Jeans, coloured, printed, wet look/faux leather look, boot legged, skinny, boyfriend, tapered. All of which are muted colours: blue, black, burgundy, dark teal, mustard. and the prints are same colour prints, jacquard prints. with prices ranging from £12-25

*They have Shoes and Accessories. Their shoes are mostly safe fashion options, Blacks, Browns and Greys, with the occasional colour within their ballet pumps only. At the end of one aisle, they had some 'on trend' shoes, that could be marketed to the younger girl, maybe 20-40yrs, they age bracket being so large because it is my feeling that the shoes are very safe fashion trends, not too high heels and although they follow the animal print trend, for example, the style is a safe style (a high court) and the tones of the animal print are dark and not quite so outrageous, it would not be necessary to be confident within your fashion sense to be able to get away with the fashion trend. Prices from £16-£45

*The have Leisure Wear, which includes sportswear of which they have many sports joggers and leggings and many vest tops for gym wear. Leisure wear also includes day-wear tops, which consist of fancier 50% cotton 50% Modal tops, printed and plain, with small amounts of trend detailing. Ruched sleeves, applique attached to the front side chest area made from rolled t-shirt fabric to give a more interesting look to tops and also gathers on the reverse neck seam or on the front at the bottom of a V neck, at price points £8-14.

Evening wear in purples and black

* They have what they refer to as 'smart wear', which includes going out wear and at present appears to consist of Christmas party wear which has on trend detailing. sleeveless shift dresses with an over layer in lace in black and purple at £25, along with embellished, with sparkle vest tops and flouncy blouses.
Sparkle and purple and black being the details of the moment.


* Coats where muted colours, black, khaki, blue and burgundy, belted for the detail of the season - £45. Party, metallic in silver or bronze with a heavy Damask type fabric, two toned with black - £60 and swing styled coats with a military feel, faux fur collar and cuff and mock leather bucket fastening in black or burgundy - £35


* They also have their more upmarket knits and jackets. Cashmere knits with expensive looking sparkle buttons on a plain 'Breakfast at Tiffenys' style cropped sleeve, round neck cardigans and waterfall front cardigans at £50.

*They also cater to the essentials - office wear trousers, very plain in style in black, grey or blue at very affordable prices - £12-20. They also display jersey/knits, Large cowl collars and chunky cardigans from £18-20, with more slimline jumpers and cardigans in classic styles and soft but bolder colours.

*Finally the jewel in their crown, a label that is called Top Shop, not sure how long that will last, this is a range that seem to target the 'New Look/Top Shop' clientele. This is a range that surprised me and made me think twice about shopping in TU. The clothes are safely fashionable. There are no statement pieces and nothing is adventurous but everything is on trend and pleasing to the eye. Blouses with two-toned piping on the cuff and around the collars. We also see pencil skirts in lace print and animal prints, blouses with ties round the neckline in teals and Burgundy's with all over prints at £20, many tops are shear and 100% polyester, tapered trousers in mustard, and bird print shirts with black collar and button extensions. Sainsburys is a label that can start bragging about itself!!

Pattern Cutting Exercise

Designing a shift dress with displaced seams and darts



Front View

Today in my pattern cutting class we had to displace the seams and darts in a simple shift dress. I had already drawn off the shift dress block pattern onto fabric, poly cotton, and sewn it together in preparation for the lesson so started the lesson by placing my toille on the stand and initially drawing the toille onto a piece of paper and playing with a few guidelines to start me off.

I ended up with the views below.




Back View

I found the process very interesting, deciding where to place the lines so that the pattern will lay flat without too much manipulation later on. I like the way there is a balance of straight lines and curves. I like the ideas of maybe using these lines to add 3D panels that maybe jut out at you. Or maybe add layers or use this in combination with origami ideas to produce a new idea. Maybe also this could be used to develop a woven effect with layers overlapping each other and then rejoining the seams.

Next I will need to ensure that my pattern actually works by converting to a flat pattern on paper and then reproducing the garment in fabric not forgetting seam allowances and notches and making it fully lined with fastenings

 



Sainsbury's TU Brief

Straight after our crit on Thursday we received our new project, to research and spot a potential gap in TU's clothing ranges by developing a customer profile board, a trend board and design 6 outfits that could be sold in the store that answer to that gap.
I have started researching the stores demographic to try and help me ascertain their customer profile as i believe that once this has been established the other details will fall into place much more easily.
Research has taken me to a company called Experian, a company that develop customer profiling and arrange 'consumer classification systems' on behalf of major blue chip companies so that they can market and target correctly.
I have read each of the classification's and am finding it really hard to believe that any of them would be typical Salisbury's TU shoppers. Salisbury's as a whole suggest a well to do couple with good jobs, liberal views, a young family, urban and stylish, but I struggle to believe that this couple would also buy their clothes from Salisbury's and not Next or Debenhams.
I need to have a word with my tutor, see if she can help me to get things clarified a little more., maybe help me to look at things in a different way. I am also going to discuss with my peers, hopefully between us I can get a clearer picture of our Salisbury's  demographic.

I will also need to find information out buy visiting a store and maybe sending an email to their Head Office, but I can not gaurantee a reply, I am very aware that although this project is one of my priorities it will not be a prioority for a Sainsbury's employee, So I need a plan that will work because I am relying on my hard work and practice not someone elses.

Need to visit a large Sainsbury's and take a good look at the clothing:

1. What types of clothing do they offer?
2. What types of fabric do they use?
3. What types of styles do they sell?
4. What areas of design do they cover? Lingerie, nightwear, casual, business, fashion, special occaision?
5. What age ranges do they cater for?
6. What types of detailing do they add to thier garments?
7. How much detailing do they have per garment? Is there a limit to avoid overloading the budget?
8. Do they include embellishment on their garments?

Induction Brief

I have been thinking about my brief and the journey I have taken so far. I have drawn comparisons to origami and Japanese Pattern Cutting and structure. It occurred to me whilst visiting London that all these thing have similarities to building structure, with their straight lines and geometric shapes

 The buildings have folds, and geometric shapes within their architecture, they have shape and form and they have symmetry.

The building show strength but equally sit beautifully amongst its eclectic scenery.

1. See if the building sculpture shapes can be gained by paper folding - fabric folding and pleating
2. See if silhouettes can be gained from the building shapes

Professional Practice

Within this unit, it is required that I research 5 designers/brands, create a CV, portfolio, and cover letter, send them off to each of the five designers researched and chase up in the hope for internships.
Now I understand that the benefits would far outweigh the negatives for a twenty year old seeking to start thier career but I am struggling to understand how I can embrace this project.
I have a rough twenty years experience within the fashion industry, of sorts, and truely beleive any firm that I would be interested in gaining experience from would equally benefit from having me on thier books. I have a lot to offer and due to both my age, my experience and my personal circumstances would find it quite difficult to give my time to an employer for free. So I have to make a desicion.... Do I send off my CV only asking for paid work, this would mean looking at larger firms based in London, which would equally mean spending more money to get to their place of work and meaning spending more time away from my children, requiring that I organise child care, which I can not afford, of biting the bullet and chasing local bridal designers, who would be unable to pay me but may be more flexible with when and how I would intern and it would mean that I would be able to keep the impact upon my family to a minimum but it would more than likely be unpaid!!!!! Mortgage, bills, food, heating, husband does not run his own multinational business, we need money!!
What to do????

After thinking about it I think I will look into local designers, and see if I can acquire work with them on a very part-time schedule, in order for me to gain knowledge and understanding of small businesses and how they run, but without too much home-life upheaval.

time to ponder and think about what to do and how to do it!!!

FAD - Closure

Yesterday we had our FAD "Crit", which is a presentation of our FAD project to the rest of the class. We digitally presented a maximum of 20 images that would help to summarise our final drawings along with our final illustrations and we had to hand in our flats, or working drawings that would support our designs and a 200 word rationale.

I thought the crit went well, As I have taught to classes level 1 students before, the idea of standing in front of a group does not bother me too much, however the idea of what I am saying and the work I present is being judged, whether formally or not, does bother me. I am not overly precious about my work, quite the reverse in fact, I do not overly lack confidence, but I know my limitations and my weaknesses and they lie within my sketchbook work. I am not good with the and I am trying to overcome and free myself from my over analysing ways and just put things onto paper without boundaries but it is not easy and then it gets worse when your piers get to see it all on a large computer wall screen. This is the very reason I decided to write my reflective journal online in the form of a Blog, in the hope that I may improve my confidence with critical feedback on my work.

All of this being said, I felt it went pretty well and hand some very good feedback, along with some points that I may consider before handing in this project for formal marking in February.
I was advised to perhaps look at my figure and make sure that she sits well with the ethos of the design. That perhaps in this instance she could have been a little more earthy, less futuristic looking, perhaps she looks a little too polished. so perhaps for final hand in I may alter her face a little, make her a little more nomadic.
This two week experience, although hard work and stressful, has taught me that, with guidance and support I can achieve something that I thought was impossible, I can produce work that is competitive beside my colleagues. And that I enjoy Illustrator and Photoshop a lot more that 3D work.

Maybe I should look into how I can use CAD work within my sketchbook more and in different more diverse ways. Maybe I should embrace what I enjoy and see how far I can take it within my work whilst still challenging myself, throughout.

FAD - Update

Thursday - Tutorials. This went OK. We had a group session and I think it went pretty well, however I did have some concerns that I didn't really want to share with a group, self absorbed concerns that wouldn't have been fair sharing and taking up group time with. I wanted assurances that I was heading in the right direction with my sketchbook. I wanted to know how well, if at all, I had answered the brief.
If the truth be known, I have little interest in winning the competition, although I know it is 'beneficial to network and gain contacts within a very competitive industry and to make a name for ourselves', but I have little interest in gaining notoriety globally or indeed nationally. I have a simple destination when it comes to this degree, GET A FIRST!!! All I want is to get a good qualification and start my own, low key, business. I have kid and they will come first in our lives until they are old enough to look after themselves. Then and only then will I return to a more serious time keeping career. So my plan? Get a really good qualification, then make dresses for people on a very part-time basis. Slowly grow that business. So FAD, this is, to me, possible points that add up to my final mark. which is why it is important to me to make sure I fully understand the brief and show that within my work. I want the best mark I can achieve.
After all the tutorials had finished I managed to gain a little time with the tutor to go through my sketchbook. I then understood that I have not quite appreciates the brief, I have concentrated on current trends and not understood that this brief is more about using your imagination and designing something without trend boundaries. The tutor advised that I revisit my initial inspiration and perhaps go from there.
I was firstly devastated, the timescale was too small to be heading in the wrong direction. Then after a night of thinking about it and researching the Tibetan tribes and their culture, I decided that I would take m inspiration of a Tibetan woman, and her dress. This would be my starting point.
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1242046/dress/
I then remembered that whilst I was at the V&A I was interested in an outfit by Balenciaga, France, A/W 2004, which use a combination of fabrics, wool and suede. which lead me to thing about the fabrics that I may use within my design process.

Look into natural fabrics, wool, felt, leather, fur. maybe look into using patchwork..

Research into the traditional clothing worm by Tibetan women has shown that they wear beautifully striped aprons. These where traditionally worn by married women only but more recently all women have enjoyed wearing them.
http://www.amazingtibettravel.com/tibet-culture/tibetan-apron.htm
This has urged me to use colour within my design and look into different ways of developing that colour. Pathcwork or ragrug construction
'Early rugs consisted of three major forms, identified by their method of construction. The first was made with a strong, firm cloth base to which other material was stitched to make it thick and warm.'http://www.ragberrydesigns.co.uk/page4.html

Warmth being the main purpose of my design and crucial to my rationale
Maybe need to try some samples of ragrugging, as my mum taught me how to do this when I was younger and I have used this style within a different project of mine and have been meaning to find a way to grow the idea into something more usable.

Look into patchwork and ragrugs
Start my design development
create some samples for sketchbook

V&A Visit

Yesterday I visited the V&A to do some research for both my Induction Brief and the FAD project. Looking round the new look Fashion Gallery with its extra floor, that is currently dedicated to the Ballgown Exhibition, and what an exhibition!!!
Many of the dresses where amazing, the Giles Deacon 2007, Carwash Dress with it multitude of pleats
http:/www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/fairytale-gowns-you-shall-go-to-the-ball-7743282.html?action=gallery&ino=3;

This is inspiring as I have quite an interest in fabric manipulation and what can be done with fabric to make beautiful dresses. Also the shapes bring me back to my paper folding origami research.

This was placed along side an Alexander McQueen dress made from what appeared to be pinky grey feathers. It is quite interesting to use alternative fabrics for dress making, or alternative pattern cutting, but still producing something beautiful and glamorous.http:/www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/fairytale-gowns-you-shall-go-to-the-ball-7743282.html?action=gallery&ino=6;

Gareth Pugh exhibited a dress made from silver interlocking pieces of leather, that appeared to have been formed without seams or darts http:/www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/may/15/vanda-ballgowns-exhibition-red-carpet;

I like the idea of using metallic colours to create a beautiful, dress fit for bridal or evening wear collections

The last dress that made me gasp was a canary yellow dress by Erdem AW08, It had an amazing print at the bottom of the dress that included applique, embroidery and embellishment
 http:/www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/fairytale-gowns-you-shall-go-to-the-ball-7743282.html?action=gallery&ino=2;
I would like to include some form of embellishment on my dresses, not sure how or in what form, maybe I should look into other designers that have used embellishment within their collections.

1. Look into metallic fabrics
2. Research embellishment
3. see what shapes you can achieve from paper folding, or try and use some fabric and fold that

After the Ballgown Exhibition, we went downstairs to the Fashion Gallery to look at the collections.

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O71739/tuileries-evening-dress-and-antonio-castillo/
within these I liked the Lanvin, Castillo evening dress with its net and taffeta skirt

Castillo used net over taffeta, and attached small cream circles to the net to help form with evening dress. This is something I have never considered, the use of net over fabric could create a different look if the net was a different colour to the underlying fabric


http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O120798/evening-dress-pierre-balmain/

Balmains evening dress from 1957 showed beautiful use of colour in a dress that could be a bridal gown, with pleats over the bust and applique over the skirt, it reminded me of Douglas Hannants Spring Summer 2013 Bridal Dress design, using floral print instead of the traditional Ivory or White.

This may be something I could use for my fabric, patterned fabric that ma not ordinarily be used for bridal wear or even evening wear.



Things to do - Look at patterned fabrics, use maybe stripped or checked?, maybe drape on stand to see how it may appear in a full skirt

Induction Brief - update

Taking a look at my previous blog, looking into eveningwear trends and Douglas Hannant 2013, one of his designs reminded me of the fortune telling origami game I played whilst at school
http://douglashannant.com/spring-2013-bridal-collection

this has made me think of japanese origami, and japanese design and pattern cutting such as Issey Miyake or Yohji Yamamoto. The structure also reminds me of the futuristic buildings in our major cities, the way the frames and angles look

These are areas for research:
Japanese pattern manipulation
Origami
Building Architecture

Take a look at buildings and do some primary research - gather some pictures and drawings of angular buildings

Tutorials - Induction unit

Today I had my first university tutor, one-on-one, tutorial. I explained what i had done so far, the trend research, the link to origami, the link with modern futuristic buildings and that i will be continuing my research further with a trip to the V&A tomorrow,so far so good. The direction i was given i did find enlightening, i am to include initial links and research for my essay within the journal for this unit. This will mean using google scholar to find papers that may or may not interest me that are linked to my fmp (final major project) but could possibly form the basis for a 4000 word essay, something that may spark some interest.
key words that are frequently used so far:
origami
sculpture
Japanese pattern cutting
bridal or bridal wear
psychology - although this word has not been used, it is where my interests lie whan it comes to the more academic need for essay research and writing.
look into these key words to find papers with an essay hypothesis or question search in mind.

FAD

 

Cold weather causes many health complaints, including Chilblains, the www.patient.co.uk website suggests that you

Keep your hands and feet warm when out in cold weather by using warm gloves and socks. Consider special heated gloves and socks if chilblains are a recurring problem.

Keep your head and ears warm by wearing a hat and scarf.

You should keep as warm as possible in the cold. Wearing several loose layers is ideal to trap body heat. You should also keep as dry as possible.

(Dr Tim Kenny 26/01/2010)

This supports the need for warmth during the winter months.

Vivienne Westwood's AW2012/13 collection included rich fabrics, lots of draping, with exquisitely fitted long coats with a military, more in the silhouette than with well placed motifs. many of the coats featured a new take on the handkerchief hem

http:/www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2012/ready-to-wear/vivienne-westwood#vivienne-westwood/full-length-photos/gallery/3;

 Love this one! Its beautiful with the hood, layering and corset waist, large pockets, this is a look that I would like to level with my designs.


http:/www.viviennewestwood.co.uk/shop/womenswear/coats-jackets/court-coat-14888;

Vivienne Westwood also seems to trend large collars or hoods, this may be a detail that needs developing as it provides warmth and insulation to the head, neck and face

It maybe interesting to see how layering different kinds of fabrics works on the stand, each with a different type of hemline

4) Try draping on the half stand to help generate volume,
as my father always said 'layers! That'll keep you warm


http:/www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2012/ready-to-wear/viktor-and-rolf#viktor-and-rolf/full-length-photos/gallery/14;

Whilst Viktor and Rolf SW12/13 offered a much more tailored look, but again with layering or sorts

The overlay on the sleeves could double as a scarf, or a hand mit to keep hands and fingers warm, if it possessed a pocket details at the ends



http:/www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2012/ready-to-wear/viktor-and-rolf#viktor-and-rolf/full-length-photos/gallery/23;

 Large pockets, this could help with keeping your hand warm and avoid the added cost of accessories - Important design feature will need to look into including.

Fur!!! this was very big for a trend this winter 2012/13 but do the health benefits outweigh the ethical, moral dilemma attached to using fur (I am not sure if I am knowledgably enough to make a stand so think I will not use actual fur, if I have any fur it would probably be fake - better safe than sorry)

5) Include pockets and a scarf or hood in my design process.
http:/www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2012/ready-to-wear/chanel#chanel/full-length-photos/gallery/30;

For AW2012/13 Chanel used oversized garments that allow for layering beneath, and geometric, shape lines and detailing. Also using wool as the main fabric, this works well for insulation purposes.


Detailing on this piece are centred round the sleeve and the geometric styling that envelopes the arms


http:/www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2012/ready-to-wear/chanel#chanel/full-length-photos/gallery/6;

Again, Chanel has produced oversized coats with large sleeves and geometric lines and shapes for detaining.


Coats for this season: oversized, layered, large pockets and geometric detaining, hoods and scarves.
Details worth remembering during my design development

FAD two week deadline fashion comp!!!!!!!

 Today we were given our first brief, to enter a live brief competition. we have to design two outfits that in someway reflect the future!!!!
After thinking long and hard, spending far too long staring at a blank screen on the laptop and pulling my hair out, and finally after a long conversation with a colleague I finally have a direction. so here goes........

Thinking about global warming and the effects it has on our daily life, taking imro considerarion how that may effect the future, i have decided to design outer wear, coats with the great british weather in mind and although our summer has been mostly wet and miserable, our winters are turning colder and icier. with those points in mind i will design two outfots ready for an icelandic winter in the uk!!!!!!!
1) Firstly I will need to research coat trends and functional.
2) Need to research traditional outer wear that would be worn in colder climates, say, mongolia, iceland, to make sure what is designed is functional as well as forward approaching.
3) Need to look into fabrics that are environmentally sound amd do not hit the pocket hard diring austerity.
I have taken a look at some of the key trends for aw12/13 and have noticed that although financially times are hard, it seems that we still like a little flamboyancy within or wardrobe.

Introduction brief

Have been doing research on evening/bridal wear, looking at Elie Saab couture winter collection on www.vogie.it website. http://www.vogue.it/en/shows/show/haute-couture-fall-winter-2012/elie-saab Saabs 2012 Couture Fall Winter collection wa full of sparkle, golden prints, embellished with sequins and beads to give a very rich and opulent feels, which seems decadent during the financial times we are struggling currently. The fabrics were rich chiffon allowing flowing corolla silhouettes, with organza for stronger shapes. The colours where rich but subtle, with black being the only bold colour, else we see powder blues and soft peach, helping to create an elegance.

It would be nice to at least be able to replicate the finish even if the price ofthe fabrics is out of my budget, for this I will need to do the following
1) Research fabric finishing, how do you finish the raw edges of chiffon and organza to a high standard??
2) Need to research fabrics and see what I can acquire within my budget, and what thier properties are, what shapes can be achieve with them and how much interfacing will be required to acheive the same level of structure

Dennis  Basso has also captured heavy embellishment with his Spring Summer 2013 range of evening wear, http://www.vogue.it/en/shows/show/dennis-basso  however there appears to be a focus on simple silhouettes, with the use of interesting trims andd fabric manipulation to acheive an elegant look that is remenicent of water flowing. There is also a suggestion of a 1940's inspired styling details, such as the below dress found at an exhibition shown by National Museums Liverpool, and on thier website http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/craftdesign/costume/1950sdresses/index.aspx

made by Mandell Couture, London, about 1959, which mirrors that shapes of Basso's below

and the use of bias cut to wrap around the famale form, is the way that many 1930's evening wear did.

I will also need to look into the best and most professional ways to finish bias cut dresses, so that they are neatly and most exquisitely finished.

My favoutire evening and bridal wear designer, Marchesa, showed thier spring summer 2013 collection and immedialtey you are taken to india, with bold colours and lots of silvers and golds, rich silks, taffeta, organza and tulle, without forgetting braiding, sequins and lame, soft fabrics finished with sharp edges and beautifully draped full length opulent dresses. Many of their lines included a waterfull effect to the lines, reminicent of the asymmetric styles that were on trend for SS2012.

 http://www.vogue.it/en/shows/show/marchesa

This type of styling may not last yet another season, so it may be a good idea to see where it can be taken for next season and try and move on this detail, taking it in a new direction for AW2013/4 or SS2014
Finally, Douglas Hannant, http://douglashannant.com/ Spring 2013. Hannant used printed fabrics and although they are quite obviously meant for a very special occaission the use of print in this way seems interestingly new.

 This style above is very highly sculpted and looks almost like waterfall with the ripples of fabric behind her, or maybe a paper origami game of fortunetelling that you may have played whilst a child

I will look into the se of printed fabric as apposed to plain fabrics an will look at seeing where origami takes me for design ideas

hopefully I will have a few origami paper folds under my belt before the next blog!! reflect on how I've managed to kill a few tree and produce a pile of rubbish - hopefully not!!!

First Day At Uni

First Day at university to day, Year three!!! This is when it all starts counting, heads down, nose to the grind stone, shoulders to the wheel !! and any other cliches one can think of!!

Introduced to our course tutor, whom we have already met from last years seminars. She seems nice and I think it will be easy working with her this year.

Our first unit is our induction unit, counts for for about 20% of the final grad and will include sketchbook, research and reflection, and this little post for my blog is in essence the first addition to my reflective journal. Reflection is not something I am very good at. I am fine with relaying what has happened but reflecting on that, working out what to do with my feeling towards what happened and what I am going to do next is something I tend to automatically do in my head, so remembering to write is all done without waffle is going to be a struggle. In order for me to try and improve on my struggles i decided to start a blog, hoping that would improve my reflection skills and if nothing else, i may gain some advice from anyone out there who may be bored enough to read my posts!!!

The induction unit also includes research, something else I tend to side line, and a sketchbook. This unit appears to be an introduction to the final major project, it will be how I start building my ideas that will lead into my final project and my dissertation.

Needing to start this I went out to buy my sketchbooks. I hoped this might fuel my inspiration. How do I start? What do I use as initial inspiration? If I have no inspiration, then what will I do to gain some????

I think I will start with.....

I want to design an eveningwear collection
I would like to design bridalwear
I need to research bridal and eveningwear trends
I need to look into fabrics and embellishment
I also need to looking fabric manipulation, something I have a keen interest in
I want to look at reflection to - mirrors, water, windows, silver... I like the idea of using reflection within my project but not sure what or how

Reflection of stars in a lake
Reflection of the sun rippling on the pool
Reflection of the city lights in the sky
Reflection of Lasers in the clouds
Reflection of trees in glass buildings
Reflection of People in their young, reflection of a mother in her daughter......

lots to photograph and draw!!!
loads to research and use!!!